


Balance

by Maggiemaye



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Force Bond (Star Wars), Force Dyad (Star Wars), Gen, Gray Jedi, Jedi Finn (Star Wars), Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Redeemed Ben Solo, Reylo babies, Space Virgins, That's Not How The Force Works, Time Travel, World Between Worlds, oh well i tagged it anyway, they are definitely gray jedi in their ideology but idk if they're calling themselves that, unofficially?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-28
Updated: 2020-04-07
Packaged: 2021-02-26 03:43:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,875
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21996904
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Maggiemaye/pseuds/Maggiemaye
Summary: "There is a galaxy of Light and Darkness within us all."AU in which Rey joins forces with Finn (the most Light force user she can imagine) and Ben (obviously well versed in the Dark Side) to form a reformed Jedi order.
Relationships: Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 6
Kudos: 15





	1. Prologue: First Class

**Author's Note:**

> The Rise of Skywalker had me so damn frustrated that I decided to start writing fanfiction again so here we are! I thought the first two movies in the sequel trilogy brought up some really interesting ideas (Jedi!Finn, the possibility of moving toward a less black-and-white view of the Force, and Reylo obviously) that I want to explore with this fic. I have several chapters planned, but I don't 100% know where the plot will go so we shall see what happens! Thank you for clicking!
> 
> Also I'm not a fan of the whole Rey Palpatine thing, so we're just going to yeet that into the pit along with the final scenes. Denial is a wonderful thing :)
> 
> \--Maggie

“There is a galaxy of Light and Darkness within us all.”

The Jedi master walked to the center of the circular room, hands clasped behind her back. Around her, the group of children parted so that she could pass. 

“To deny one is to surrender to the other. To cling to one is to give the other unchecked power. Only when you acknowledge both will you be truly balanced in the Force.”

“Here, you will learn your limitations. You will come to know your temptations, your pain, your greatest weaknesses.”

The children’s stares grew blank. She knew that they couldn’t understand it yet; they were too young, too untested for her words to carry any meaning.

_They’ll understand sooner than you think._

She glanced up. Across the room, her counterpart watched her speech silently, but she could hear what was in his mind. It was a melancholy thought, but he still radiated a sense of peace that she knew was hard-won. A feeling of reassurance passed through their bond.

“And,” she continued, turning back to the children with a hint of a smile. Best not to scare them too much on their first day.

“You will learn your greatest strengths, goodness, and gifts in the Force. No matter where you came from, you are meant to be here.”

She turned again to find that someone else had joined them in the room. Her first padawan, her first friend. He carried his newly crafted lightsaber on his belt and beamed like the sun.

She smiled in return, sharing his happiness. Struck with inspiration, she drew her own saber and held it in front of her in a passive stance. The children leaned forward. She sensed their wonder; it mirrored her own even now as she turned the saber on, filling the room with yellow light. 

“Welcome to the Reformed Temple.” 


	2. The World Between Worlds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben's life isn't over yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really not sure where this fic is going. I certainly wasn't expecting Reylo offspring in the second chapter, but here we are! Playing around in the Star Wars galaxy is basically my quarantine coping skill right now; if anyone else gets some enjoyment out of this, then that's even better. Thanks for reading!

_ Two Years Earlier _

As soon as Ben closed his eyes the pain was gone.

When he opened them again, he was no longer on Exegol. Rey was nowhere to be seen; in fact, there was no one else around him. Instead, he saw an empty chamber stretching before him, lined by seemingly endless doors.

This was not what Ben had imagined his death would be like. He’d predicted a lot more...fire. But this place was quiet, still, peaceful...or eerie, depending on how one looked at it. Ben hadn’t decided what stance he took yet. 

Selfishly, he wished that Rey were here. But he was dead and Rey was not, and that was the only acceptable outcome. It had been no sacrifice at all, to give his life to her. Even in death, it seemed, Ben was selfish.

In the distance, he heard the creak of a door opening. 

Instinctively, Ben walked toward the sound. He passed door after door, and they all looked exactly the same. How anyone knew where to go in this place was a mystery to him, one that he supposed he’d have to figure out eventually. He kept walking.

A figure emerged in front of him, far away. Ben watched as the person appeared to close a door behind them, and then turned to walk toward him. An eternity seemed to pass before they drew closer to each other, close enough for Ben to make out more of the person’s features. She was a woman, possibly around his own age, her clothing coarse, brown, and shapeless. Her hair was long, falling around her shoulders in a jet black sheet. And at her side hung an unmistakable metal hilt. A saber. She was a Jedi?

Confused, he picked up his pace. She matched him, eventually picking up more speed and breaking into a run. Soon she was close enough that Ben could see her beaming, dimpled smile.

He couldn’t recall anyone ever being this happy to see him. And now that he could really see her, he was struck by the thought that she seemed familiar. An ancestor, perhaps, or--

“Dad!”

Ben stopped in his tracks. The young woman was still running, and it took her no time at all to get to him. She flung her arms around his neck without warning.

“Sorry,” she said, stepping back. “I didn’t mean to alarm. It’s just such a  _ relief _ to see you.” 

She composed herself but still smiled at him, looking like she wanted nothing more than to hug him again. 

Death was  _ nothing _ like Ben had imagined.

“What…” was all he could say. His tongue was a dead weight in his mouth. Before him, the woman met his gaze with dark eyes of her own.

“You’re in the World Between Worlds,” she said, by way of explanation.

“And you’re my…”

“Your daughter, yes. Of course you don’t know me yet. But you will someday, once you go back.”

This was the familiarity he had sensed before. And even if he hadn’t sensed it, the fact that she was his offspring was starting to become obvious. The hair, the eyes, even her nose had the same shape he’d hated so much on his own face. He wondered if she’d had similar thoughts about it, in her own childhood.

He searched her face for any trace of Rey, and found none. He let out a shuddering breath. Clearly the Solo genes were strong.

“Once I go back,” he repeated, slowly.

“Yes. You’re not dead, Dad. You can go right back through the door that brought you here, back to Exegol, back to Mom--”

His sharp gasp stopped her mid-sentence. Her eyes widened as she realized what she had said.

“I’m usually better about keeping details to myself. But it’s harder when it’s you. I’m used to you already knowing everything there is to know.” Her smile turned sheepish. “This must be really strange for you. You’re so  _ young.” _

Ben nodded.

“That’s why I came. I’ll guide you wherever you choose to go. And...it’s my duty to let you know that you don’t have to go back. There is a door that will take you into death, if you choose. Although I admit that I hope you don’t choose that way.”

“What would happen to you, if I chose to die today?”

“Nothing good, I’m sure. So, I guess my motives are a bit selfish. I still have more to do in my life, and in order for me to do that, you have to...you know...be alive.”

Ben found himself sharing her wry grin. How was it that his offspring could smile so freely? She seemed so unburdened, despite the fact that her presence in the World Between Worlds had to mean she had great strength in the Force. Had she not suffered for this? Had his child grown up to be...happy? It seemed so. Her easy humor and soft smiles were alien to him. Clearly, her life had been completely different from his.

He was grateful. 

Behind them, a sudden thud broke him from this line of thought. Just behind her left shoulder, Ben noted that one of the doors was padlocked shut. The sound had come from behind it.

“What’s in there?”

“Something that needed to be contained.” Her tone darkened. “But that’s not for you to worry about. You have a more important decision to make.” 

Reluctantly, he looked away from the locked door. His impossible daughter was still looking at him, though her smile had faded somewhat.

“How are you here?” he breathed.

“Time is different here. I’m learning to control my comings and goings, so that I can choose when and where to enter the World Between Worlds. When my abilities started to become clear, you told me that I would come here to meet you in a time of need. And I--I’ve been trying to find you in this time and place for so long now. I’ve been getting so frustrated with myself. But you never seemed worried. You always said that I would find you when the time was right.”

Her voice had grown tight, and Ben felt a strong urge to reassure her. Somehow.

“It seems you have,” was the best he could come up with. His daughter beamed back at him. 

“So,” she said, “do I have hope? That you’ve decided to go back to your life?”

He turned back behind him, to look at the still-open door he’d come through. There was darkness beyond it, but also an undeniable pulse of light. 

“I’m afraid,” he admitted quietly. “In a way, it was easy to die. Going back, and living down the things I’ve done...I don’t know if I can.”

Her hand came to rest on his elbow.

“If it helps,” she said softly, “I grew up around people that owe their lives to you and Mom. I lived almost seventeen years before I ever knew you had once been Kylo Ren. That was hard for me to accept, but eventually I came to realize that it didn’t change the fact that you were my father. You were still the person who had raised me and helped me understand myself. And you did that for a lot of other people besides just me. Or...you will do that, if you go back.”

“What do you mean?” he asked, but she shook her head.

“I shouldn’t give anything else away. I just wanted you to know that you’ll be more than Kylo Ren. There is no making up for what you’ve done, I suspect, but it doesn’t change the fact that you can do good things, too. And…you’ll have a family that loves you.”

Ben took a shaky breath.

“Am I a good father, at least?” His voice sounded small. 

“I can’t imagine a better one,” she said without hesitation. Ben watched as her expression went from pure sincerity to a teasing grin.

“And you know what a good father would do in this very situation?” she asked. “He would go through the door, back to his life, so his adult daughter doesn’t  _ cease to exist.” _

Ben laughed then, a genuine bark of a laugh that caught him off-guard.

“Oh, you’re good,” he told her, amused and also the smallest bit hopeful.

“Desperate times call for desperate measures, Dad. I couldn’t take any chances.”

“Well, you’ve succeeded.” He looked at the open door with a new resolve. Rey waited on the other side, alive and well. Maybe they really did have a chance at a life, where they could both carve some happiness out of the cruel galaxy. Maybe he could erase even a fraction of the misery he had caused over the years.

Yes. He would go back. But it had to be now, before he gave himself time to change his mind. 

“What’s your name?” he asked in a rush, turning back to his daughter. She really did look just like him, he was realizing more and more. She leaned forward to hug him again; this time, he placed tentative hands on her back in return.

“I’ll tell you later. Talk soon, Dad. It’s time to go now.”

Heeding her words, he placed a hand on the doorknob. He took one last look at her face, memorizing every detail that he could, before stepping through the door.


End file.
